The following three books are available to accompany the exhibition…

The Victorian Vision Inventing New Britain Edited by John M. MacKenzie

In many respects, the modern world was forged in the Victorian age. By the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, transport, communications, the global economy, and many aspects of social life were similar to those of today. These revolutionary developments are thoroughly explored in the book's three major sections: society, technology and world, echoing the themes of the exhibition.

The contributors, all experts in their fields, consider the ideas, products, inventions and social changes wrought by the Victorians. A look at the artistic taste and patronage of Queen Victoria and Price Albert is followed by an exploration of the home life and leisure of ordinary Victorians, education and changing roles of women and men. Other areas covered include health, religious ideas, the development of new technologies in printing, photography, building, engineering and transport, as well as the Victorian's intriguing attitudes towards animals and culture.

Throughout the book an array of wonderful photographs, posters, paintings, sculpture, domestic ephemera, costume, medical equipment and many other objects and images from the V&A and other international collections have been chosen to complement the lively and informative text.

£35.00 Hardback
ISBN: 1 85177 327 4
Published 29th March 2001
352pp
227x298mm
300 col 50 b/w

The Victorian Woman Suzanne Fagence Cooper

This book explodes the myth of the passive Victorian woman, and demonstrates how women rose to the challenges of the age of empire and industry.

Drawing on the new Victorian medium of photography, as well as the huge range of images from advertising and magazines, it creates a fascinating picture of the diversity of women's achievements at this time. Queen Victoria herself had a profound impact on her female subjects. She strongly influenced their attitudes to marriage, motherhood and bereavement, as she shared these experiences with many of her countrywomen. It was during her reign that many pioneering women pushed back the boundaries of the masculine world, and fought for recognition of their skills as doctors, teachers, artists and adventurers. Many of their stories are told here. In addition, the daily struggles of countless working women are movingly presented, based on the evidence of novels, paintings and their own first-hand accounts.

From mill-girl to monarch, the resilience and vitality of Victorian women is vividly captured in this attractive book, providing a fascinating glimpse of how women carved out new roles in their rapidly changing world.

£9.95 Hardback
ISBN: 1 85177 330 4
Published 29th March 2001
96pp
208x197mm
60 col 20 b/w

The Victorians at Home and Abroad Paul Atterbury and Susanne Fagence Cooper

This richly illustrated book is an opportunity to revisit the achievements of the Victorian period, putting aside the attitudes and judgements of the twentieth century. It measures their achievements in all the many facets of their turbulent society.

The Victorians were expansive, ambitious, imaginative and confident. Makers of the modern world, their extraordinary vision provoked revolutions in art and culture, society, science and industry, and in international trade. This book explores the essential characteristics of the Victorians, highlighting their willingness to face the many debates and divisions that fragmented their culture, and their attempts to come to terms with a new world order.

Monarchy, family, Victoria's new Britain and the Gothic vision, sport, ships and trains, domestic life, death and religion, nature and landscape, interior decoration, the impact of world cultures and exoticism are all featured in this colourful snapshot of the Victorian vision of the world which captures the essence of the era.

£9.95 Hardback
ISBN: 1 85177 329 0
Published 29th March 2001
96pp
208x197mm
60 col 20 b/w

These books are available to buy from all good bookshops and from the V&A Museum, or you can purchase them online by clicking here